Office of Academic Programs
First Day of Class Resources
This page contains links to brief articles with tips on the first day of class, ice breakers, and strategies for learning student names.
First Day of Class
First Day of Class: What Can/Should We Do?
by L. Dee Fink
About 1.5 pages of bulleted points. Excellent advice from one of the nation's premiere faculty developers.
The First Day of Class
From the Faculty Center for Teaching and e-Learning at UNC Charlotte but borrowed from Penn State's Online TA handbook.
Brief - but a nice perspective because it orders and prioritizes.
The Most Important Day: Starting Well
By Delivee L. Wright Teaching and Learning Center, University of Nebraska.
Reprinted with permission, July 30, 1999.
Also about 1.5 pages. A little different take than Fink's. Includes suggestions for ice breakers and a first-day checklist.
The First Day of Class...A Day of Missed Opportunities?
From the UNC Center for Teaching and Learning
Again, a brief document with subheadings. If nothing else, read the first paragraph about what students want to know the first day.
First Day of Class
From the same folks - brief and with a little different perspective. Worth looking at. It addresses first impressions, motivation, and learning about your students.
From Faculty Development at Honolulu Community College.
Learning Names
New Students, New Semester: How to Remember Names and Faces
By Myron Jaworsky Associate Faculty, Accounting, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
Magically Learn Names in Minutes
By Doug Madden Honolulu Community College. Printed with permission, August 26, 1999.
The Name Game
Bonnie Kendall, Anthropology Department, University of Indiana at Bloomington